Electric!

by Ava McKnight

  Cassidy crossed the marble floor and held her hand out.

  “Good morning, sir.”

  They shook and then McClellan gestured to one of the chairs in front of his enormous desk.

  Cassidy slid into the cushy seat and once again resisted the urge to fidget. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so stressed-out, embarrassed, lost. Except maybe that time she’d told Chase about the two lovers she’d had in college. That had been mortifying.

  Getting right to it, the CEO said, “I understand you weren’t able to entice Pryce Shipley to get a quote from us.”

  “No, sir. I was not.”

  “Did he indicate why he’d take a meeting with you when he’s not interested in MII’s services?”

  With a slight shake of her head, she said, “No.”

  Okay. She couldn’t get past the tight-lipped responses. But she felt as though the tiniest admission on her part would lead to cement shoes. Being stuffed into a fifty-gallon drum with no air holes and tossed into the ocean. Being strung up by her ankles with all the blood rushing to her head.

  Get. A. Grip.

  When had melodrama become her forte?

  She sat straighter in her chair and took the bull by the horns. There really was no other way to play this. “I didn’t actually meet with Pryce Shipley, Mr. McClellan. We had an appointment, yes, but…” She licked her lips. Surged forward, despite her heart hammering in her chest. “I missed it.”

  His head cocked to the side. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking perplexed. “Were you ill?”

  Not even the hint of a hangover. Damn it.

  “Not exactly. You see, I’m afraid I was a bit overwhelmed by all the travel and various time zone changes and I failed to set an alarm and I…missed the meeting.”

  Failed.

  That one word resonated in her brain and flooded her senses. Emotion welled inside her again and she fought to tamp it down.

  She’d failed. Miserably.

  The woman who swore failure was never an option in a man’s world.

  Fuck.

  At least if she was going down, she was doing it with her integrity intact. Right? She was telling the truth, after all…

  McClellan stood and paced behind his big leather chair. He took a couple of minutes to wrap his mind around what she’d said and collect his thoughts, she presumed.

  Cassidy waited patiently. What more was she to do? She had no solid defense, after all.

  Finally, the CEO halted and turned to face her. The expression on his face was grim.

  “I should have realized this was a bad idea. Pitting you and Mr. Logan against each other.”

  A full-on knife to the heart.

  She sucked in a sharp breath.

  He said, “I completely misjudged the situation and moved you in a direction that doesn’t suit you.”

  She swallowed hard. She could read between the lines. A woman in the VP position didn’t suit him.

  “Well,” she said. “I’m sorry I don’t have better news.”

  “Myself as well. I had sincerely hoped that you were the one who would convince E-L to give us another shot at their business.”

  Cassidy felt tears of failure prickle her eyes. She did everything in her power to hold them back.

  He was quiet for a few moments. Cassidy wondered if he was giving her the opportunity to bow out of her job gracefully. Resign so that he didn’t have to fire her.

  While it would be much less painful to admit to a future employer she’d willingly left her position, rather than having been let go, she needed to be fired in order to get around the terms she’d agreed to when she’d taken the job.

  The knife twisted.

  Eventually, McClellan said, “Well. There are other companies to woo. Epperson-Langley doesn’t sink our ship. By any means.”

  He crossed to the double doors and held one open for her. “I’ve made my decision regarding the vice president position. I’ll announce my plans at one o’clock this afternoon.”

  Cassidy got to her feet, a bit shakily. Her gaze narrowed on him. “You’re not firing me?”

  He actually looked stricken. “Why in the world would I do that?”

  “My meeting with Pryce Shipley…”

  With a nod, he said, “An unfortunate incident. Were it just about anyone other than you who admitted to me what you did, I likely would fire them. But there are many opportunities for us, Miss Reynolds. And I’m perfectly aware of all the new interest in our company you’ve generated in such a short period of time.” He paused, took in her bunched shoulders and otherwise tense body and expression, then said, “I’m not disappointed in you.” He stared unwaveringly at her and added, “Don’t think that I am, Cassidy.”

  Tears threatened her eyes again and she glanced away to blink them back. His use of her first name drove home his point. And while it was clear he didn’t intend to promote her, he still respected her work.

  Returning her gaze to him, she mustered a steady voice and said, “Thank you, sir. I assure you, it won’t happen again.”

  He smiled. “You’re diligent, you’re dedicated and you’re one of this company’s best assets. Everyone’s entitled to a few bumps in the road. You’re far from your quota.”

  With a soft laugh, she said, “I appreciate that.”

  “And I appreciate everything you’ve done. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting with one of your potential clients.”

  “Piper Industries?”

  “They were extremely impressed with your presentation and specifically asked you service the account if they come back to MII.”

  “I’ll do my absolute best with them,” she said.

  “I know you will.”

  Moving past him, she stopped in the doorway and said, “Thank you again, Mr. McClellan.”

  “I’ll see you this afternoon, Miss Reynolds.”

  Ah, back to the formality she was much more comfortable with and which helped her to retain her professionalism, not get mired in touchy feelings when she was at work.

  Yet as she stepped into the elevator and the doors slid closed, emotion crept up on her again. She wasn’t going to be MII’s Vice President of Accounts.

  Cassidy continued to fight the tears. She wouldn’t cry in the office. She never had before and would sooner walk right out the door than cave this time. Regardless of everything that had been at stake that she’d lost. It tore at her, but she put on a brave front.

  At least she still had her job. Sure, she’d be reporting to Chase now, which would be awkward since she’d broken things off with him. But he’d be up on the executive floor and she wouldn’t be running into him every time she left her office. She took solace in that. He’d be rubbing elbows with the senior management team and she’d return to her routine of devoting all of her time and energy to keeping her clients satisfied.

  And getting back to the gym. Her clothes were tight from all the gourmet food she’d consumed lately.

  The doors opened, she took a deep breath, then headed toward Meg.

  Her assistant leaped to attention and followed Cassidy into the office. “What happened?” she asked, her tone soft. Not exactly Meg-like, but it was certainly soothing to Cassidy’s nerves. “Is everything okay? Surely McClellan knows you’re too valuable to let go.”

  “Yes,” Cassidy said with a sigh of relief. “He does realize that. And I am extremely lucky that I’ve worked my ass off these past five years for him to know that what happened with E-L is an anomaly for me. Unfortunately, we won’t be moving to the top floor.”

  Meg’s face fell. “He told you he chose Chase?”

  “Not in so many words, but he made it clear I’m not the one for the VP position.”

  Not suitable, to be exact.

  Whatever.

  Be glad you have a job. Be glad you have a job. Be glad you have a job…

  “Cass, I’m so sorry. I know how much you wanted this.”

  “I’ll survive. A promotion was never on my mind
until Tom unexpectedly resigned. Besides, I like that I can return my focus to building client relationships, not flying all over the place to drum up new business.”

  “Well, for what it’s worth, I was certainly rooting for you. I think you’re amazing, Cass. An inspiration, really.”

  Her head tilted. “I thought you said I work too damn much.”

  “You do. But I can see how much it means to you and I respect your commitment to the company.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now on to the next important subject.”

  Cassidy groaned. “Please don’t ask about me and Chase.”

  “Have you forgiven him?”

  “What’s to forgive? I told you oversleeping is my fault alone. He did something incredibly sweet for me. I screwed up with Shipley. It has nothing to do with Chase, other than the fact that I clearly can’t manage work and romance, so I ended it with him.”

  Meg gasped. “I know how upset you were on Friday. I was upset too—for you. But you’re right about Chase. He’d never do anything to hurt your chances at getting promoted. Or hurt you, in general. I can honestly say it took a toll on him to be in the office without you. It was like, sometimes he’d forget you weren’t here, come strolling by and suddenly remember. Then he’d look sort of devastated and move on. He missed you. By a lot.”

  “And I missed him. But… I’ve always wanted this job, Meg. Since I was a kid and started going to the office with my dad on the weekends. And then Gav went into accounts management and he just made it sound so glamorous, you know. The nice dinners with clients, the company parties, the sports tickets and fundraising galas. I also knew they worked really hard and I wanted to as well.”

  “It isn’t all roses and sunshine,” Meg quipped. “But even those of us without your office and paycheck enjoy the perks—and the work.”

  Raising her hands in the air, Cassidy said, “This is my life. I accept that now.”

  So why’d she feel chilled to the bone with that statement?

  The truth was, she really had missed Chase these past two weeks. In fact, she’d missed him every time he traveled, long before they’d even gotten together. The only thing that had kept her from being miserable lately when she couldn’t see him was that she’d been so damn busy she hadn’t had time to belabor the distance between them.

  Now that she was back to her norm at MII, it’d be hell to keep thoughts of him at bay. To not want to hang out with him in one of their offices or have lunch with him and the guys. For two years, she’d basked in his presence. He’d been a staple in her life. A permanent fixture that had somehow been ripped from the wall.

  By her.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. Shook her head. “I didn’t lose my job and Chase is getting a promotion he deserves. I’m happy for him. I’m happy to be going back to my strength instead of trying to be something I’m not. I’m happy. And yet… I’m totally miserable.”

  Her eyes opened.

  Meg gave her a sympathetic look. “Because you broke up with him.”

  “Because I broke up with him when I’m in love with him.”

  She’d accepted that reality on Thursday. Then everything had gone to hell in a handbag and she’d convinced herself there was no way she could juggle clients and him.

  Meg said, “I’m not exactly surprised to hear how you feel about him. But, as a friend, I’m telling you I think it’s a huge mistake to put that wall back up between the two of you.”

  She groaned. “Little late in the day for that lecture, because I already did it.”

  Meg opened her mouth to speak, but Cassidy held up her hand to stop her.

  “This is how it is, Meg. And it’s probably for the best so that I don’t hurt us even more down the line.”

  She could see her friend wanted to protest. But Meg knew better than to argue the point when Cassidy had made up her mind. So she left.

  Too bad there was no easy resolution for the feelings Cassidy had for Chase.

  Chapter Ten

  Chase snatched the receiver on his desk phone when it buzzed. “Yes?”

  In a conspiratorial tone, Grace said, “Meg just came out of Cassidy’s office. She’s alone.”

  “Thanks.” He hung up, shoved back his chair and stood. He’d asked Grace to alert him when it appeared Cassidy was available.

  He stalked out of his office and into hers, not even heeding Meg’s warning look as he passed by her. There wasn’t anything worse Cassidy could say to him than we’re over and she’d already done that, hadn’t she?

  Closing the door behind him, he crossed the room, taking in her wary expression. She sat behind her desk, her fingers frozen above her laptop keyboard, mid-stroke.

  “You’re still here, so… McClellan didn’t give you the boot?”

  “No,” she said, relief flashing in her eyes. “He gave me a buy on my extreme fuckup. I’m still incredibly embarrassed by it, though.”

  “That’s because you’re conscientious. And despite a crazy slip last week, you’re still at the top of your game. You’ve got Underwriting hopping with quote requests.”

  “McClellan is meeting with Piper Industries right now too.”

  “So all’s well that ends well.” He pinned her with a look. “Except for one loose end, that is.”

  “Chase—”

  His hand jerked up. “Uh-huh. You had your say on Saturday. Now it’s my turn.”

  “This is hardly the time nor the place.”

  “I’ll be brief. I know what happened in Pittsburgh rattled you. I feel completely responsible, Cass, for loading you up with champagne and food and a massage. And—”

  “Chase, you are absolutely not responsible.”

  “Technically, I am. When I made all of those arrangements, I was hoping to give you a little relief from the whole frenzied travel experience. But I didn’t take into consideration that for two weeks, you had to operate outside your element in order to meet a challenge presented. And yes, Cass, I can see where that would require your full attention. I diverted it on Thursday.”

  “But not with ill intent.”

  “Of course not.”

  She sighed. “I’ll admit that, for a split second, I wondered if there’d been some sort of ulterior motive.”

  His gut clenched. “You know I would never—”

  “I know,” she was quick to say. “I said it was a split second. And I’ve told you I only have myself to blame. So don’t worry about it, Chase. It’s over.”

  He lurched forward, planting the palms of his hands on her desk and leaning toward her. “But we’re not. We can’t be, Cass.”

  She got to her feet and turned away, staring out a window. Chase moved behind her.

  “You’re not a complacent person,” he told her in a low tone. “You’re constantly striving to be better. Look at what you’ve achieved in the past two weeks, regardless of one blip with E-L. Look at what happened between us when we were in Flagstaff. When we had dinner together at my house the next week. We’re all over each other, Cass.” His fingers slid up her bare arm. “But we still care about business. Our careers. And we work damn well together. We can do this. We can make this happen.”

  He felt the tremor run through her. She sucked in a breath and held it. Then exhaled slowly. The tension radiated from her in waves. It made Chase even more determined to break through. Her work crisis had been averted. They didn’t know the outcome of the VP position, but he was certain they could operate together at MII and succeed at romance as well.

  He had to believe in that, because he wasn’t willing to let her go so easily.

  At all, really.

  “Cassidy,” he said, respecting her office etiquette in hopes of placating her. Showing her he’d follow her rules if she’d just give a little more on her side. “Have dinner with me tonight. We need to talk this out. There are some things I need to say to you. Things like…” His eyes shut for a moment, then he said, “Like, how much I love you.”

  She whir
led around, a few stray strands of long hair whisking about her face and sticking to her lip gloss, so he swept them away. Her chest rose and fell quickly with her suddenly shallow breathing. Her amber eyes were wide and wild in the sockets.

  “What did you say?” she asked in a breathy voice.

  Chase grinned, despite the intense situation. “You heard me perfectly well.”

  She swallowed hard. “Chase…” Her mind clearly reeled. She couldn’t seem to latch on to a coherent thought. “Chase,” she repeated, then shook her head. “Shit.”

  Pushing past him, she paced alongside her pristine white sofa. So her style.

  “You can’t tell me you’re surprised,” he simply said.

  She drew up short. “You’re getting the promotion,” she blurted. Then clamped her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened even more. Ripping her hand away, she said, “Oh shit, I can’t believe I just said that. Chase, I’m so sorry. You should hear the news first from McClellan. It’s just that… Oh shit.”

  Plopping down on her couch, she pressed her hands to her knees. The hem of her skirt skimmed mid-thigh and Chase felt the familiar wave of desire flood his body.

  Goddamn, even when everything was falling apart between them, totally devastating him, he lusted after her.

  He let out a low chuckle at the thought.

  Her head snapped up. “What’s so funny?”

  “Me. You. This whole situation. You’ve delivered the worst news—our split—and the best news—my promotion—and yet all I can really think about is how fucking hot you are and how much I want to make love to you right here in your office, to hell with trying to be PC for you.”

  Heat lit her amber irises. Yeah, she was hot for him too.

  “Cass,” he said, his voice gruff. Everything was on the line for him—and it had absolutely nothing to do with his career at McClellan Industrial Insurers. Sitting on the edge of her sturdy marble coffee table, he clasped her hands in his and stared her deep in the eyes. “I know you think you can’t balance what we do within these walls and what we do outside of them, but I believe we can. If we really and truly want to.”

  Cassidy gazed at him for several suspended seconds. Everything inside her had gone haywire when he’d said he loved her.